[Infographic] Consumer Payment Preferences
Did you know the average consumer gets his or her first credit card at age 21? Check out the rest of these fast facts to get a peek inside the world of your customers’ payment and money management practices. Check out the Infographic
Q&A with Experts from Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn
As a small business owner you probably know that social media is an important marketing channel. But, you may have questions about exactly how to best implement a social media marketing strategy tailored to your type of business and your particular customer base.
While there is certainly something to be said for expert third party advice, no one knows the interworking of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn like the companies themselves. And at an upcoming webinar, you can ask them direct questions that will help you better craft your own social media strategy.
Leverage Customers to Increase Marketing for Your Business
Whether you know it or not, your current customer base falls into four main categories, and how you manage that portfolio of customers can make a difference to the bottom-line. In the Ultimate Guide to Small Business Financial Management we show you how determine which customers fit where by plotting their satisfaction with your business vs. the revenue they bring in. After you bucket your customers, you can effectively convert your existing client base into more revenue and increased exposure for your business.
PaySimple Safe from Heartbleed
You’ve probably heard about the Heartbleed SSL vulnerability that is compromising secure Internet communication worldwide.
If you’re concerned about your PaySimple account, don’t worry– PaySimple systems are NOT AFFECTED by Heartbleed.
If you haven’t heard about the threat, or have simply heard the name but not the details, here are the key points:
How Better Invoicing Can Get You Paid Faster
You’ve gotten a new customer to try your business and have provided them with your top-notch service or product. Now all you need to do is collect your payment…easy, right?
Well, as it turns out, not always.
Get Free Trials of SaaS Apps with the Small Business Stack
The Small Business Stack is a collection of free trials of SaaS (Software as a Service– applications that you access online in the cloud) offerings that can help your small business grow and operate more efficiently. Apps include help desk/CRM, productivity, project management, web design, search optimization, web analytics, and more from top SaaS providers.
Small Businesses Have an Advocate at the SBA
If your small business gets crossways with a federal agency, it is common to feel overwhelmed and powerless against the often heavy hand of the United States Government. Whether your problem is long-overdue invoice payments, unjustified or excessive fines, endless audits, or threats of retaliation by a federal employee, the Small Business Administration (SBA) National Ombudsman’s sole mission is to help you get through it.
The SBA Office of the National Ombudsman (ONO) was created by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 with a mission “to assist small businesses that experience excessive or unfair regulatory enforcement actions involving a Federal agency.” While it cannot change, stop, or delay a federal agency enforcement action, it can act as an intermediary between small business owners and the federal agency (even if that agency is the SBA itself).
Alternative Ways to Get a Loan for Your Business
Last month, Experian/Moody’s reported that the Q4 Small Business Credit Index rose 1.2 points to 117. This is a record high in the index since they started to track it in 2011.
As you expand your business, access to credit is critical. This report indicates that it’s easier than ever to get more money flowing into your business for expansion, investment, or bridging a short-term challenge, which is great news. But what if your business is newer to launch, or if you still can’t get a traditional loan?
How To Identify Online Scams, Urban Legends, and Misinformation
That the Internet is a great equalizer is a double-edged sword. The upside is that it enables small business owners to compete on a level playing field with their large company competitors. The downside is that clever web-design and viral sharing can result in information of unequal quality being portrayed as having equivalent authority.
If you’ve ever suffered the embarrassment of passing along a scam email to a colleague, forwarding an “urban legend” malware warning to your entire Contact list, or re-tweeting a hoax, then you know how important it is to be sure of your facts before passing along that email, tweet, or post. Conversely, you likely understand just how frustrating it is to argue with someone who steadfastly clings to a ridiculous “fact” because they can find “official” content supporting it on the Internet.
Protect your business (and avoid embarrassment) by using these tips and tools to identify scams and hoaxes before you respond to, re-tweet, or forward them.
5 Tips for Handling Late Payment Calls Gracefully
One of the most difficult and frustrating tasks for a business owner or manager is calling a customer that is late on a payment. In most cases these late payment calls push you outside of your normal comfort zone, and because of that lack of confidence these calls get placed at the very bottom of the to-do list. But without on-time payments you risk missing your own bills, or keeping your company functioning efficiently. Below are 5 tips that can help you become more successful and confident when dealing with late payers.
